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- 2.1 The Dean admits students to the Ph.D. program, relying on the advice of the Director and Doctoral Admissions Committee.
- This committee is comprised of all members of the Doctoral programs committee and others who volunteer to participate in reviewing Ph.D. applicant’s admissions material.
- 2.2 Applicants to the doctoral program are required to:
- Submit an application form including a statement about his/her academic and career plans, commitment to Information Science & Technology and commitment to research
- Provide an official copy of all post-secondary transcripts, showing that he/she holds at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college.
- Take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and have the scores sent to Syracuse University. This is recommended, not required
- Take the TOEFL test if the applicant’s native language is not English. This requirement is waived if the applicant has completed a post-secondary degree in English.
- Provide three letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty members familiar with the applicant’s academic and scholarly work, focused on the experience, aptitude and training in research.
- 2.3 An applicant’s suitability for the program will be judged based on the following considerations:
- Abstract Reasoning: ability in both verbal and quantitative reasoning, as well as analytic writing, is essential.
- Commitment to Information Science & Technology: the applicant must be genuinely interested in this School’s focus on information and people.
- Fit of interests to the School and its’ research-active faculty.
- Commitment to research: the applicant must be interested in doing research as a major part of his/her professional activities.
- Appropriate motivation: this program makes heavy demands on the time and energy of the student. The student must have reasonable tolerance for the flexibility that this School feels is essential to the fruitful pursuit of understanding of information and its transfer among people.
- GRE test scores are expected to be greater than the 80th percentile on the verbal, quantitative and analytical sections. Special care is required in interpreting the GRE scores of applicants who have suffered educational deficiencies because of social, physical, or environmental circumstances and/or who lack proficiency in English. An applicant may include a description of such mitigating circumstances in his/her application form statement and provide as much additional evidence as possible of his/her academic potential.
- English ability: TOFEL test score must be greater than 650 (250 on the computer test). The applicant must demonstrate conversational ability in an interview and written ability in a sample of written English.
- Other potential contributions to the School.
- 2.4 An applicant who is admitted is expected to enroll as a full-time student
- An applicant who is admitted may defer acceptance for one year, after which the applicant must reapply.
- An admitted student is expected to actively engage in apprenticeship-type scholarship training in a face-to-face fashion, typically through the end of coursework.
- 2.5 An applicant who is not accepted may reapply.
- 2.6 Students who have left the program for any reason before graduating may reapply.
Section 3: Financial Support
- 3.1 It is the intent of the School to award all students in satisfactory standing financial aid (stipend, benefits and tuition) during the first four years, and if possible the first five, of their study, including summer funding for 3 years. However, because of the limited availability of funds and the need to support both new and continuing students, support is not and cannot be guaranteed for any student.
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- Awards generally require that the student work as a graduate or teaching assistant.
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- Students are encouraged throughout the program to develop alternative sources of funding, through faculty, School or personally sponsored programs of research
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- Funding may be available past the fourth year, but decisions regarding such funding may be based on the needs of the School rather than individual merit.
- 3.2 The Dean will make financial aid awards on the advice of the Director and Doctoral Committee.
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- Awards will typically be made in the Spring semester.
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- Student members of the Doctoral Committee will not take part in the discussion
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- of financial aid awards.
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- The Doctoral Committee will solicit from each student who applies for aid
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- information about his/her needs, experience, abilities, current objectives, and the extent of outside funding, if applicable. In the case of new students, the results of the candidate’s admissions process and his/her assessment of needs from the application will be employed.
- 3.3 Recommendations will be determined on merit, based on the multiple criteria that contribute to a student’s merit.
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- No attempt is made to specify the exact criteria of merit. The committee will
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- negotiate a balance among diverse criteria.
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- The rating given to the student at his/her most recent evaluation will be
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- considered. A rating of unsatisfactory will result in lower priority in ranking.
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- Other criteria that may be considered include potential for research; academic progress and experience; the student’s tenure in the program, with priority
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- inversely related to the extent of financial aid already received; the fit between the School’s needs and the abilities and academic interests of the student; and balance of support among new and continuing students.
Section 4: Advisor
- 4.1 Every student must have a faculty advisor.
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- The advisor is the intermediary between the University (including the School
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- of information Studies) and the student. It is the advisor’s responsibility to assist the student in planning a program of study and in orienting him/her to the formal and informal instructional and research programs of the School.
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- A student is assigned an advisor when admitted into the program (Doctoral Form #1).
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- A student may change advisors at any time by gaining the consent of the new advisor and filing Doctoral Form #2, which notifies the former advisor.
- 4.2 The student should receive guidance from the advisor about:
- Planning a program of study
- Planning a program of research and teaching
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- practica
- Selecting committee members
- Choosing a dissertation topic
- Writing a formal dissertation proposal
- Writing the dissertation
- Other issues related to his/her academic program career planning
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- 4.3 Any full-time, tenured or tenure-track member of the IST Faculty may serve as a student’s advisor with the agreement of the student and the faculty member. This noted, every effort is made to be sure that the faculty member is research active.
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- Other qualified individuals may serve as a student’s advisor with the agreement of
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- the student and the individual and approval of the Director.
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- A faculty member may continue to serve as an advisor for one year after he or she
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- has left the School, with the agreement of the student and the individual and approval of the Director. Such an arrangement should be approved only for a student who expects to defend his or her dissertation within the year.
Section 5: Program of Study (Sequence and Selection)
- 5.1 The student is expected to spend two to three years (depending upon his/her background) completing a plan of study, which includes coursework that is relevant to research preparation, research and teaching practica, and other educational experiences. The Program of Study should be seen as a living document, started in the first semester, and updated regularly throughout the program.
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- The goal of the Program of study is to obtain (a) a comprehensive mastery of the methods and substance in the field of information studies and (b) the ability to synthesize productively diverse data, theories, and methods. Meeting this goal is the first requirement of the program.
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- A student taking coursework is expected (though not required) to take two courses or seminars per semester as well as the teaching and research practica (see section 6).
- 5.2 A student’s choice of courses and other activities should be discussed with the student’s advisor.
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- In choosing courses, a student taking coursework should give first consideration to the doctoral seminars offered by the School.
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- Students are encouraged to talk with their advisor about the total set of commitments being made in courses, practica, and other additional activities.
Section 6: Practicum in Research and Teaching
- 6.1 Students are required to complete a minimum of four research (IST 810) and four teaching (IST 840) practica.
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- Typically the research practica are two credits per, and the teaching practica are
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- one credit per
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- Typically, practica will be completed within the first four semesters of the
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- student’s program of study, not including summers.
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- Practica must be completed before end-of-coursework (see section 10).
- 6.2 The Director (or another faculty member serving as the Research and Teaching Practicum Coordinator) will be assigned IST 810 and IST 840 as part of his/her teaching load. That faculty member will be responsible for:
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- Consulting with students taking practica during registration or the first week of classes regarding appropriate research and teaching activities for the practicum.
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- Arranging meetings and other experiences relevant to research and teaching apprenticeship for students enrolled in the practica.
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- Assigning grades for the practica. The grades should reflect the evaluations of the faculty members with whom the student worked in research and teaching activities and the student’s participation in other activities of the practicum.
- 6.3 Research practica (IST 810)
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- Students taking a research practicum should register for two (2) credits of IST 810. o A student taking a research practicum must be actively involved in a
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- research project or projects with a faculty member throughout the term.
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- The student and the research practicum supervisor should complete Doctoral
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- Form #12 to record the plans for the practicum and #14 to record the evaluation. o Research and research-related activities should be comparable in value and
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- effort to at least a two-credit course.
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- A student should ordinarily not take more than one research practicum with the
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- same faculty member. The Director can approve an exception if the two practica
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- are distinctly different projects.
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- Students are expected to be continuously involved in research activities
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- throughout their residency in the program. After all practicum requirements are
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- met, the student and advisor will determine the student’s research activities.
- 6.4 Teaching practica (IST 840)
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- Students taking a teaching practicum should register for one (1) credit of IST 840.
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- A student taking a teaching practicum will be assigned as a teaching apprentice
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- to a faculty member or will teach a course under the oversight of a faculty member.
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- The student and the teaching practicum supervisor should complete
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- Doctoral Form #13 to record the plans for the practicum and #15 to record the evaluation. o The teaching practicum should address the following objectives:
- Improve the student’s communication skills (if possible, by giving him/her increasingly sophisticated teaching responsibilities).
- Give the student an understanding of a wide variety of subjects that are of value to information professionals.
- Bring the student into contact with a number of faculty members in addition to those with whom the student otherwise has contact.
- Doctoral Form #13 to record the plans for the practicum and #15 to record the evaluation. o The teaching practicum should address the following objectives:
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- The student’s involvement should be comparable in value and effort to at least a one-credit course.
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- Students teaching a course for the first time can fulfill two teaching practicum requirements.
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- A student should not take more than one teaching practicum with the same faculty member (with the exception of teaching a course). The Director can approve an exception if the two practica are distinctly different teaching experiences.
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Syracuse University School of Information Studies Ph.D. Program Handbook
- 6.5 If the student feels that research or teaching activities during a particular semester are not of educational value, he/she should discuss the situation with his/her advisor who will follow through with the Director.
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Curriculum and Course Catalog
7.1 The program is extremely flexible, with only 12 required practica and 18 required dissertation credits.
7.2 The program will offer at least nine credits of doctoral courses each semester to include:
o IST 810 and IST 840
o One methods course
o One seminar
o IST 999 (dissertation credits)7.3 IST 776 and IST 777, iSchool oriented research methods courses, will be offered in alternating falls.
7.4 Refer to the Graduate School Catalog for more information:
PhD 8 Annual Evaluation
8.1 Unless otherwise stated, the policies in this section apply only for active students who have not been admitted to candidacy (see section 13).
o After a student has been admitted into candidacy, the student’s committee willdetermine the student’s status in the program and report it annually to the Director. It is recommended that candidates meet at least once a year with their committee to discuss their progress in the past semester and plans for the coming semester.
8.2 The major purpose of the annual evaluation meeting is to provide the student with the Faculty’s collective assessment of his/her progress in the program and of his/her plans for the following academic year.
8.3 The student will schedule an annual evaluation for his or herself in the Spring semester and for each continuing student in the Fall semester.
o In extraordinary circumstances, a student, a student’s advisor, or the Director cancall an evaluation meeting at any time.
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